November 30, 2008

"You find in solitude only what you take to it."

Juan Ramon Jimenez

November 29, 2008

Studying the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe inspires careful inspection of the forms around me. This close-up of cacti is protective and threatening simultaneously. Would I rather be on the inside looking out? Or on the outside, looking in?

November 28, 2008

November 27, 2008

On this Thanksgiving morning, a different sort of bounty - seed pods from Australia continue to fascinate with their charismatic strangeness. The natural world is a mysterious and wonderful place. Today I am grateful to be an observer in it.

November 26, 2008

Without actually planning it, I've accumulated a small collection of handmade objects. A carved stone bust from Ghana, a bone spoon from Germany, an antique table broom from England, three Native American spirit totems from New Mexico - each imbued with a quality worth cultivating. These beautiful objects remind me not only of time and place - where each was acquired, what I saw, who was accompanying me - but also remind me of life lessons, some of which were not easy. 

Clearer boundaries? Working on it. 

A generous spirit? My daily challenge. 

Choosing to be nonjudgmental when faced with pain or hurt? At least I'm trying. 

The ray of morning sunlight filtering through the screen softens my small collection of memories, reminding me that time alters perspective, and smoothes out rough edges. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I choose to be grateful for the many lessons presented to me in this lifetime. Not easy, but certainly a sign that I'm alive and well.

November 25, 2008

"The beautiful is that which pleases universally without a concept."

Immanuel Kant

November 24, 2008

Men are born soft and supple;

dead, they are stiff and hard.

Plants are born tender and pliant;

dead, they are brittle and dry.

Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible

is a disciple of death.

Whoever is soft and yielding

is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.

The soft and supple will prevail.

Tao te Ching; Verse 76

Stephen Mitchell translation

November 23, 2008

"Size determines an object, but scale determines art"

Robert Smithson

November 22, 2008

Colors seen by candle-light

Will not look the same by day.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

November 21, 2008

When are we working with Nature as artists, and when are we working against her? Is this image about art, vanity or vandalism? Or is it about all three simultaneously?